Given a rare opportunity to crack the rotation on Wednesday in Denver with Jusuf Nurkic out, Suns forward Thaddeus Young played well, posting six points, nine rebounds, and a +15 mark in 18 minutes of action.
However, Young was a DNP-CD again in Oklahoma City on Friday, with head coach Frank Vogel explaining this week that the team views the veteran as a small-ball center who’s a better fit in some matchups than others, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
“That’s why we didn’t go out and get just another guy that’s the same as Drew (Eubanks) and Nurk,” Vogel said. “We went out and got somebody that has a little bit of a different dynamic. I think in a next-man-up setting like this, it helps, but if you get in a playoff series where there’s certain matchups that we’re struggling against, you have somebody that can give a different element to our attack. We’re excited to have him.”
According to Young, he and the Suns had conversations before he signed with the club about the certain lineups and sets he might be used in, so he’s not bothered by the fact that his minutes have been sporadic.
“I’m battle tested. I’m prepared to not play a whole bunch of games just like I did and go in and walk right in and fit like a glove. For me, it’s never going to be about the minute aspect of it,” Young said. “Yeah, I would love to play a lot of minutes. I would love to continue to be able to play at such a high level, but at the end of the day, whatever coaches, staff and the team needs me to do, I’m going to do it.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- After word broke that he was signing a second 10-day contract with Phoenix, Isaiah Thomas said he’s “super thankful” for the opportunity that he’s gotten from the club, according to Rankin. The veteran guard has appeared briefly in just two of six games as a Sun so far, but he has reportedly looked good in practice and earned praise from Vogel for his locker room presence. “He’s been a really important voice,” Vogel said on Friday. “Two-time All-Star that guys respect and he’s got a high IQ. So he can point out things that we can do better, we’re not doing well enough. Everybody in the locker room respects him and likes him and his voice carries weight. That’s what you want with guys in those type of roles.”
- The Suns have slipped out of the top six in the Western Conference and have the NBA’s most difficult remaining schedule, but Kevin Durant believes that, with the postseason around the corner, the club has done a good job building chemistry. “For the most part, we understand each other. We see each other’s tendencies,” Durant said (Twitter video link via Rankin). “That’s what you want from a group is to start to understand each other more. We’re doing that.”
- Following Friday’s loss in Oklahoma City, Vogel called on the NBA to take a closer look at “all the flopping” that Thunder wing Luguentz Dort does (Twitter video link via Rankin). “It’s ridiculous how he gets calls,” Vogel said. “If they’re going to get calls like that, they’re going to have an advantage. You can’t just fall down every time there’s contact and get a whistle.” Given that the Thunder are a potential first-round playoff opponent for the Suns, Vogel’s comments come off as a “preemptive working of the referees” for that possible matchup, suggests Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Funny stuff. IT gets 8 minutes but Young gets zero? Vogel should have given him a try.
Crying about Dort’s flopping (considering how often KD, Booker and Okogie flop) is irony defined.
Yeah that comment was pure “pot calling the kettle black” worthy.
Dort was voted 2nd best defender by the players. I don’t think they view it as flopping.
If you’re going to aggregate Vogel’s wildly inappropriate comments about Dort, you should also note that the league office rescinded the flopping technical he got during that game. So not only was he wrong at the time, but he got even more wrong the next day.